


Nesting

by BirdsWithBrokenWings



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Domestic Bucky Barnes, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, May not be canon compliant, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 16:57:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16644134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BirdsWithBrokenWings/pseuds/BirdsWithBrokenWings
Summary: Bucky Barnes is still recovering. You love him anyways.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Eventual smut. I'll mark the chapters as they come.

"I'm home." You call into the quiet apartment, closing the front door behind you. There is no response. You drop your keys on the counter and your bag nearby. Your coat goes in the closet along with your shoes.

"Bucky?" You don't remember him having anything on the calendar today, where is he?

The lights are still on in the bedroom so you go to turn them off before beginning dinner. That's when you see him. He's standing naked in the bathroom, hair still wet. He's frozen in front of the mirror staring at himself. 

Again.

This is the third time you've found him frozen this week. You've tried to ask what set him off but he doesn't want to talk about it. You're not sure if you should tell Rogers, it feels like a betrayal of Bucky's trust. But you're worried.

In the beginning you would try to wake him up or get him moving again. Talking to him did nothing. Touching him was a mistake.

Now, you just get a glass of water and place it in front of him for when he wakes up. You put a towel down on the wet floor, careful not to brush Bucky's ankles. Then, you begin to make dinner.

Twenty minutes later, with dinner almost ready, Bucky shows up quietly.

"Hey honey." You try to minimal response.

"It's chicken and rice tonight. Should be ready soon." You say.

Still he says very little. He's always like this when he wakes back up. Tired, and grumpy. At least he's dried off his hair so he's no longer dripping.

Dinner is quiet. When you head off to the bedroom, Bucky doesn't follow you. Instead he turns on the tv and watches the local channel.

You settle into bed and begin to read your book.

Somewhere around midnight Bucky walks into the room and strips before sliding into bed.

"Sorry." He whispers. Still half asleep, you mumble something about how its okay, and you bury your head in his chest. He's nice and warm aside from his shoulder, so you do your best to soak up that warmth with every inch of you.

He wraps his arm around you and places his head on top of yours. You quickly drift back off to sleep to the slight whirs and clicks inside his shoulder.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------  
In the morning the two of you are still wrapped together when your alarm begins to go off. Bucky starts before you turn it off. At least he's looking better this morning than he was last night.

"I have a long shift at work today. I should be home by seven. How do you feel about cooking?" You ask

He considers for a moment before saying, "I'll look in the fridge."

You go about your morning easily. At some point Bucky heads off to the gym and you give him a quick kiss goodbye before packing your lunch.  
\------------------------------------------------------------  
When you arrive back home after a long day at work, there is the distinct smell of something burning. You throw open the door to find no-one there and all the dishes in the sink. Tacked on the refrigerator is the note, "Cooking did not go well. Picking up take out."  
You had hoped this might go okay. You know Bucky often gets bored sitting around in the apartment. He goes to the gym and sometimes calls Steve, but there's not much for him to do around here.  
There is a rattling at the door knob. You turn around in alarm to find it was just Bucky trying to get in the door with his hand full of Chinese food. You grab one of the bags and bring it to the kitchen table as he closes and locks the door behind him.

"You need to remember to lock that." He says

"I was a little worried the apartment was burning." You say.

"Sorry." He blushes and you begin to feel guilty.

"I didn't mean-It's really nice that you tried to cook, Bucky. I just wanted to be sure you were okay." You say.

Bucky doesn't respond.

The two of you unwrap the food in silence and dig in heartily. It feels like ages since lunch. After dinner you start the process of washing the dishes together. Whatever he was cooking is really burnt on there. It takes nearly an hour before the dishes are done, but by the end of it, the two of you are laughing as you snap a towel at him and he flicks soapy water at you. 

"What were you trying to cook anyways?" You ask.

"Sausage and potatoes, like my mom used to make. I don't remember her ever burning it like that though." He says, a smile still playing over his face.

"What about cooking lessons?" You ask.

"Pay somebody to teach me how to cook? That makes it sound really bad." He responds.

"No! It's totally normal. They even have couple's classes. It'd be nice to get out of the apartment, right?" You say.

"I guess." He says, still not looking entirely sure.

"I'll go with you! It'll be fun." You think you got him there.

Tonight Bucky comes to bed with you early and reads some of your book to you. His quiet voice puts you to sleep easily and you miss the latter half of the chapter. 

The next morning goes in a similar matter. 

And the next. 

And the next.

Then your comfortable routine is thrown into a tailspin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter. Stuff happens.

The morning starts like any other. Then Bucky gets a phone call from Steve. Which, in itself, isn't all that odd, even if Steve usually waits for later in the day. Bucky is upset quickly by the call and leaves the room. Bucky rarely fights with Steve that you know of. At least, not about things other than you. 

When Bucky comes back into the room you can tell he is agitated, even though he never raised his voice loud enough that you could overhear the call.

"What's the matter?" You ask, concerned.

"Steve needs some help with something." He mutters.

"Okay. Why is that upsetting you?" You ask, not really understanding.

"He wants me to-he needs me to fight. I don't do that anymore. I'm not that man anymore!" Bucky clenches his fist as he says this. You got the impression that Bucky had been a military man once upon a time, but it came up so rarely...you hadn't realized it was such a sore spot.

"Babe, if you tell him that, I'm sure he can ask somebody else. Just call Steve back and tell him you can't do it." You say, hoping your judgement of Rogers is right here. He knows Bucky is fragile. He wouldn't really force him to do something that upset him would he?

"You don't understand and I can't tell you! I have to do this!" Bucky has raised his voice at this point which he's never done before.

"I'm not stopping you!" You say, a little hurt. You want to tell him he could tell you anything, but Bucky would never believe that. It doesn't matter how many times you've already told him that or how many more times you say it. Bucky will hardly even admit that he doesn't like scrambled eggs. You still don't even know why.

"It's about me. I have to do it." He says, and then it starts to click. You knew Steve wouldn't ask Bucky to do something like this, especially with Steve being so protective. The only reason he would get Bucky involved is if Bucky already was involved. His past, that he so loves to hide, is coming back to haunt him.

"I believe in you, Bucky. This will all be fine, and then you just come home. We'll be back to normal like nothing even happened by tomorrow." You try.

Bucky doesn't respond and just looks off into the distance. Soon though, he snaps back to it and goes to leave. You whip out of your chair to catch him at the door.

"Do I at least get a kiss goodbye?" You ask.

"You don't even know who I am." Says Bucky, not meeting your eyes. Then he closes the door.


End file.
